Getting my new chameleon.

[Grasshopper]

Ok I just ordered my 3-4 month Male veiled chameleon. Should get him Tuesday or Wednesday. Since hes small I was wondering about the temperature and basking temperature for him. Also I'm putting him in my 3 foot 27 inch wide enclosure. Is that to big? And what about feeding? I wanted to do cup feeding since hes small and the cage is big I just wasnt sure if he would find everything good. Bit will he be ok cup feeding? Also since I'm used to a 7 month female veiled I was wondering what was all different caring for a juvenile Male?

 

[Grasshopper]

I ordered from fl chams, they had gorgeous chams. I got straight from the bloodline I heard it is better that way.

 

[Grasshopper]

Also where should I put his digital therm/humidity gauge? Should it be directly under the light?

 

[Nylah712]

Congrats on your new cham!! FL Chams is a great place to get healthy chameleons. For a veiled that young the temperature should be at ambient 72-80F (22-26C), basking 85F (29C) till he is about 10 months old. I recommend using a gauge and a digital infrared thermometer to get the exact temperature of a specific location. As for placement of the term/humidity gauge, I have mine semi-directly (a bit off to the side) under the light but, I also you the infrared gun to double check the temperature. As for cage wise, the saying is bigger is better, but for now, I would keep him in that till he is a juvenile. I personally didn't have a good experience with cup feeding so, in my opinion, I would go with free-range feeding so you don't have to starve him. If you're uncomfortable with that you could also do the cup and free-range feeding.

 

[Nylah712]

The difference between the husbandry for a male v.s. a female is a little bit less complex. Males, of course, don't lay eggs, so they egg bin won't be needed. Males will need a larger cage than females because of their size difference and the males will have a higher basking and ambient temperature than the females. To the extent of my knowledge that is pretty much the difference between a male and a female.

 

[Grasshopper]

Is that placement ok? It's right beside the basking spot.

 

[Nylah712]

I think that looks good

 

[Grasshopper]

Ok.. I'm still adding to his cage. Any suggestions? Or think this looks ok?

 

[Nylah712]

That looks great in my opinion!

 

[Beman]

What is the distance between your UVB and the branch beneath it? I would move the heat lamp forward a bit so when he is basking he is getting both uvb and heat. I would be concerned about having the heat lamp right on the screen. They are little climbing devils at that age and will screen climb more often then you would think. So this is where a thermal burn concern comes in. I really like these and you can drill holes into the plate to attach it firmly to your cage. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007D1BUJY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Did you put 1 inch river rock on top of the soil to keep him from eating it?
I would try to attach in a feeding cup somewhere near the basking level but slightly below it so he can see them from basking. At that age they are little eating machines so your looking at 15-20 feeders each morning.
I really like having a temp gun. It has a laser so you can get an accurate reading of the branch that they are sitting on. So if the branch is reading 83 then where they rise into the heat say an inch higher is right in the sweet spot.

 

[SirWilliamj]

I ordered from fl chams, they had gorgeous chams. I got straight from the bloodline I heard it is better that way.

I got Toruk from FL Chams also (Driskel bloodline). He is awesome, very aggressive / territorial but is a sociable chameleon and likes to be around people (rare i know).

 

[Grasshopper]

I have made home made ladders and only used one in the cage the other one the basking light is on. I have the branches 6 1/2 inches away from the basking light. And the plants do have rocks on them I put them on before I did anything else.

 

[Grasshopper]

I have ordered a temp gun, I read those come in handy outside and in the cage.

 

[Grasshopper]

I got Toruk from FL Chams also (Driskel bloodline). He is awesome, very aggressive / territorial but is a sociable chameleon and likes to be around people (rare i know).

Toruk is gorgeous, how long have you had him? Did you get him young as well? Was the experience good with fl chams?

 

[Beman]

I have made home made ladders and only used one in the cage the other one the basking light is on. I have the branches 6 1/2 inches away from the basking light. And the plants do have rocks on them I put them on before I did anything else.

Perfect.. Just make sure the ladder that the light is sitting on is not getting too hot. otherwise you are doing great!

 

[Grasshopper]

Perfect.. Just make sure the ladder that the light is sitting on is not getting too hot. otherwise you are doing great!

Thank you. I just got my email and he will be here tomorrow I'm so excited!! I couldn't have made all the upgrades and got all the right things if it wasnt for you guys here. I will for ever be thankful.

 

[Beman]

Thank you. I just got my email and he will be here tomorrow I'm so excited!! I couldn't have made all the upgrades and got all the right things if it wasnt for you guys here. I will for ever be thankful.

Well hopefully you will stick around and keep us updated on his growth. I am personally quite fond of the baby pics

 

[Grasshopper]

I will for sure. You might see more pictures than wanted but I'm here for a while. So your stuck with me. Lol

 

[SirWilliamj]

I have made home made ladders and only used one in the cage the other one the basking light is on. I have the branches 6 1/2 inches away from the basking light. And the plants do have rocks on them I put them on before I did anything else.

Check the temp of the basking branches so they are not much higher than 80 degrees. He likely will grow quick and his back will get closer and closer to the light... before you know it, its 100 degrees on his back and his little spikes start burning... so make sure you can adjust your branches lower as he grows.

 

[SirWilliamj]

Toruk is gorgeous, how long have you had him? Did you get him young as well? Was the experience good with fl chams?

He just turned 2 years old. I bought mine 3-4 months just like yours. Here is a pic of Toruk less than a week after i received him in the mail. Within 2 months, he was 10x the size.. So this is what you can expect if you feed him alot :-O